Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 71

-'You'll have countless questions while teaching Sirine.'

Before departing for the north, Derek visited Melberot's residence to deliver his final confirmation. The arrogant mage, legs crossed as he reviewed documents, was pleased to hear Derek's intention to head north but warned him as Sirine's father:

-'Many mages gave up trying to teach Sirine. Their reasons varied—some met unfortunate ends.'

-'...'

-'I only want Sirine to adapt well to noble society. Learn magic appropriate for the star-rank system, acquire ladylike refinement—just become someone who won't disgrace the Rochester family name. The rest doesn't matter. But any questions arising during this process... keep them to yourself. That's all.'

Though his words seemed ordinary, Melberot's expression was deeply meaningful. Anyone could tell he was hiding something, but Derek wasn't in a position to pry. Nor was he particularly interested in lengthy backstories—his task was simply to coax Sirine into learning properly.

Yet an odd intuition nagged at him.

A freezing wind howled. The carriage, wrecked by wild beasts, was beyond repair. Passing by cowering servants, Derek stepped forward.

"Lady Sirine. I'm Derek from Evelstain."

Derek opted for his first strategy—establishing communication. Knowing many tutors had failed with the same approach, he kept expectations low. The girl showed no reaction to the stench of beast corpses and blood—clearly not someone open to dialogue. Still, he had to try.

Then came an unexpected response from the girl gripping a beast's carcass:

"Serina told me about you."

Unkempt hair fell across her forehead as her snow-white eyes locked onto Derek. Her voice, clear and melodious, carried an intellectual tone. Calm and composed, she might have seemed demure—were it not for being drenched in beast blood.

"I heard you're here to teach me magic."

"...Yes. Though of humble birth, I make my living teaching magic."

"Interesting."

To his surprise, communication worked. Just as Derek considered his first method might succeed—

Sirine's bluish hair began floating as mana surged through her. Her white eyes shimmered with blue energy before she smirked at Derek, her expression brimming with peculiar excitement.

"Then you must be stronger than me?"

"...Pardon?"

As Derek questioned, Sirine vanished.

Her movement through the icy wind was too swift to follow. By the time Aiselin and the servants blinked, Sirine's skirt already fluttered violently as she landed inches from Derek's face.

Bare feet peeked beneath her frilled skirt before stomping the snow—instantly summoning an earthen wall that crashed toward Derek.

No incantation. No mana-gathering motion. Her speed defied her petite frame's physical limits.

'Transformation magic... Nearly 2nd-grade? Not quite 3rd...'

Derek couldn't help being impressed. Reaching 3rd-grade before adulthood wasn't unheard of—maybe one or two per generation among nobility with full support. But achieving this in this barren land, after countless tutors gave up? Unthinkable.

- Kwa-gak! Kwa-gak!

Derek backflipped over the rising wall, landing low with newfound seriousness.

- Whoosh!

More earthen walls erupted to crush him, but mana arrows shattered them before they fully formed. Servants and even Sirine gaped—Derek's reaction speed surpassed normal limits.

'This isn't standard star-grade magic application. Not Wild School either... What is she?'

Magic achievement followed one eternal truth—bloodline. First, second, third—all came down to lineage. And this girl inherited a 6th-grade mage's blood. Her high attainment wasn't surprising.

Yet her mana usage differed drastically from Melberot's. Her unrestrained style made her seem unrelated to the disciplined 6th-grade noble mage.

"You dodged?"

Sirine's expression cooled as she flicked her fingers, studying Derek. Her attacks carried killing intent—this girl knew no restraint.

By star-grade standards, her magic approached 3rd-grade. 2nd-grade transformation magic"Earthen Wall."3rd-grade"Acceleration."Yet her magic felt unbound by such classifications.

"Lady Sirine."

Derek's voice lowered. Adjusting his loosened leather glove, he glared with piercing eyes.

"You shouldn't attack people recklessly."

Stating the obvious was Derek's way. Diela, Elente, Denis all said it—Derek always spoke undeniable truths. But Sirine scoffed.

"How very southwestern of you. The open plains and mild climate must be paradise."

The freezing wind whipped her hair wildly. Barefoot in weather that made grown men shiver, she strode through snowfields—an unsettling sight.

"If I don't attack first, you think others will leave me alone?"

"That's called civilization."

"Meaningless here. Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten—same for wild animals or humans in these lands."

Her worldview was extreme. Harsh northern upbringing might explain it, but Sirine was noble-born—likely raised comfortably. Yet her icy gaze held conviction.

"To teach me, prove your qualification."

"Which is?"

"Not dying by my hand."

The girl stood amidst a graveyard of corpses—rabbits, wolves, deer, bears, even humans—without remorse. To her, skinning rabbits and humans held equal weight.

Some might call this purity. Others, madness.

Derek firmly believed the latter.

- Bang!

Sirine vanished again. Her movements between skeletal trees required sensing, not sight. As Derek focused on her sound—

- Whoosh!

Mana flared as she cast 1st-grade"Soundproofing,"deafening Derek.

'Impressive combat sense.'

Derek remained composed as pressure intensified. 1st-grade combat spells flew—shockwaves, ice spears, fire arrows—all multi-cast while maintaining 3rd-grade"Acceleration."

- Kugugung! Bang!

Derek felt odd kinship. Her feral independence mirrored his past. But two key differences existed—her heavenly noble bloodline, and her excessively crude combat style.

To battle-hardened Derek, her movements seemed amateurish.

- Kwa-ak!

- Kwa-deuk! Kwa-gak! Kwa-ga-gak!

Sirine's eyes widened. All her spells were obliterated by mana arrows before fully forming. Intercepting spells mid-cast was Derek's specialty—no amount of combat instinct could counter his fluid mana control.

Now Derek charged. Distance closed instantly, but Sirine backflipped, hair flaring.

"Catching me with speed? How stu—"

Mockery died as primal dread crawled up her spine—a sensation beyond five senses, instinct honed hunting magical beasts since childhood.

- Kwa-ak!

- Kwa-dang!

Unable to retreat far, Sirine rolled across snow. Derek's foot pinned her shadow—2nd-grade combat magic"Shadow Bind."

A slow spell normally impractical, but Derek's innate mana sense overcame its flaws.

"H-how...?"

The question was pointless. Derek approached the bound girl.

Trained by legendary detection mage Drest Wolftail, Derek tracked opponents through mana flow alone. 3rd-grade"Acceleration"left residual mana trails—fatal against detection specialists.

Detection mages were transformation mages'natural predators. Sirine, relying solely on instinct, lacked such theoretical knowledge. To her, Derek seemed prescient.

"Lady Sirine. If you keep resisting, I'll have to—"

"Hup!"

Before he finished, Sirine yanked a buried rock and hurled it at Derek's temple.

- Thud!

Not fatal, but the distraction broke his focus, dispelling Shadow Bind. Sirine reactivated Acceleration to escape.

- Whoosh!

Her speed was astounding.

"..."

Derek stood motionless. Blood trickled down his temple. A droplet fell onto snow, spreading crimson.

Watching this, Derek pressed his forehead.

"Mr. Derek! A-are you okay?!"

Aiselin rushed forward but froze upon meeting Derek's gaze. Something was wrong.

"..."

Derek rarely showed emotion. Not when Diela insulted him, nor when Elente belittled him. Even when attacked unprovoked, his iron will remained unshaken.

Yet as he wiped blood away, Aiselin gulped. An indescribable pressure radiated from his icy stare—not quite malice, not quite killing intent, but undeniably terrifying.

Just because he didn't act foolishly in anger didn't mean he lacked emotions. He simply didn't consider them important.

Thus, without raising his voice, Derek spoke softly:

"I mentioned having three teaching methods prepared, correct?"

"Huh? Y-yes, you did..."

His voice was a razor's edge.

"We'll proceed with the third."

"M-Mr. Derek..."

"Voice any objections, Lady Aiselin."

Even now, he sought his companion's input—the picture of composure. Aiselin couldn't protest, only stammer while stepping back:

"P-please... go easy..."

"Understood."

With that, Derek vanished.

- Swoosh!

Sirine involuntarily held her breath.

Derek's face appeared inches away, crimson eyes locking onto hers. The murderous gaze reminded her of a massive wolf encountered during childhood blizzards.

In the wild, all creatures occupy one role—predator or prey. These positions aren't fixed—predators can become prey depending on whom they face.

Simple as that.

So which was she now?

As this thought surfaced, Derek's hand shot toward her collar.

- Crack!

- Crunch!

Instinctively, Sirine grabbed his calloused hand and bit down hard. The momentary loosening of his grip let her leap back—but it was meaningless.

However fast her Acceleration, Derek anticipated every move. Speed became irrelevant.

- Splat!

Realizing feints were useless, Sirine opted for pure speed to create distance. But this too played into Derek's hands. As the gap widened, he shook his hand and gathered mana.

- Whoosh!

Derek extended his arm, then clenched his fist.

"Oh unwavering earth that embraces all..."

Sirine's instincts screamed danger. Aiselin too realized—

─This was her first time hearing Derek chant.

Derek rarely used incantations. His exceptional mana control let him cast up to 2nd-grade spells without them.

- Hwoooong!

Servants gaped at the mana swirling around the boy not yet of age—surpassing most noble heirs.

- Whoosh!

- Kugugung!

Derek disliked pure firepower battles. Though gifted, he preferred tactical magic use—feints and psychological warfare.

But that didn't mean he couldn't unleash raw power when needed.

He'd already reached high 3rd-grade mastery.

- Kugugung!

The next spell had to be dodged. As Sirine braced—

"Gah!"

3rd-grade combat magic"Geokinesis."

A high-tier spell upheaving terrain to crush foes. But Sirine's combat instincts peaked—when evasion was impossible, strike the caster.

Though distance was tight, she could close it and interrupt the chant—

Except the ground beneath her was gone.

Floating mid-air, she saw Derek completing the spell, blood still trickling from his temple. His gaze held no emotion.

'He finished chanting that massive spell already...?'

His incantations were always faster than imagined. The realization dawned—their levels differed completely.

The predatory glint in his eyes was unmistakable.

She was the prey.

- Wheeeek!

All that remained was the fall.